The guys over at Tapstream asked if we would provide a guest post for their blog that highlighted the benefit of a proper press release when launching an app. We duly obliged and the result is now live.

Check out the teaser below and click the link to view the full post. Thanks to Robin and team for the opportunity.

The Power Of The Press Release: 10 Steps To Launch Success

In my previous life as a editor of iCreate Magazine, I used to pass as many press releases as I could to my team. Why? Because the majority of them were so mind-numbingly dull - about as engaging as a seminar on paint drying.

Some of them shared news of incredible new inventions, software and ground-breaking technologies, but they came in the same tan corduroy outfit as all the others. I’d rather have someone else sift through the mud to find the gold.

Every now and then, a press release arrived in the mail. We laughed at the old fashioned delivery but, ultimately, we probably paid more attention to them because they, perhaps unwittingly, did the job they needed to do - be different.

You’re probably thinking “Tell me something I don’t know. My press release needs to stand out, I get it!”, but that’s not the whole story. There’s more than one way to craft a unique release and, in most cases, glitter isn’t the answer...

It's hard not to like the new iPad ads. They're no great departure from previous marketing efforts but, unlike the recent run of iPhone commercials, they offer a simple difference - no voiceover.

With an upbeat backing track and the words loud, deep, alive, wild, bright and together plucked from a stream that looks worryingly like subliminal advertising, a swathe of colourful apps blast by to illustrate different meanings of these chosen adjectives.

All the while, we assume, the developers of the included non-Apple apps rub their hands at the prospect of an uptick in downloads.

The ad does its simple job simply. Even as iPad owners we were left thinking "I want one of those" and the campaign does well to include the iPad mini alongside its larger counterpart throughout. The ads also tout the many fun and creative uses of the iPad as opposed to simple content consumption, which makes them as applicable to current iPad owners as they are to prospective purchasers. That's a neat trick for any brand.

Ultimately, the ads feel more iPod than iPad but then perhaps that's the idea.

Sometimes iPad marketing isn't about telling the suits that they can use it as a business tool or for frightening competitors in the tablet market.

When did you last head to the Amazon Appstore to download software for your iOS device? Have you tried to access Android apps via Apple's App Store?

We're pretty sure you just answered "never" and "no".

Regardless, Apple and Amazon are now headed for settlement talks in order to decide once and for all if consumers really are confused by Amazon's use of the word. A trial date is set for this summer.

Even though Apple owns a trademark for the term App Store, why does it matter? You go to one store or the other depending on the device you use. Even if you are confused, there's a shiny icon on your iOS device's Home screen that takes you directly to the correct App Store. It's harder to get it wrong than get it right. You can't even install the Amazon Appstore on an iOS device (let alone Angry Birds for Android) and vice versa.

A Samsung phone that looks and acts just like an iPhone is much more of an issue than a store that sells apps being called, unsurprisingly, an app store. Amazon even helps those poor, confused customers by slapping the word Amazon in front of it! If other industries were to abide by this naming logic, the world would be filled with raging fruit sellers livid that their rivals dared call themselves a grocery store.

We're more upset by Amazon's flagrant rip off Apple's App Store promo graphic than the name of its store (see image above).

It seems that this lawsuit, like many in Silicon Valley, is more driven by pride than it is by any genuine substance. When a judge finally rules in favour of one company or the other, how often will you think about the impact of the decision? Will you care?

We're pretty sure you just answered "never" and "no".

Regardless of the store your app is on, why not hire Pocket Copy to write its description, a press release or any other material you need to make it the best it can be? Get in touch today to discuss your mobile copywriting needs.

At Pocket Copy, we're as excited as anyone
when one of our clients’ apps appears on the App Store. Today is one of
those days.

The brilliant team at HolosOne enlisted our services during
production of their incredible new utility app, Vintage Gadget, which went live on the App Store this morning.

With eight tools in one app, including a
protractor, level, stopwatch and ruler, Vintage Gadget is an affordable and
convenient utility, but that’s not all... it’s also drop-dead gorgeous!

During our time working with HolosOne we
had the chance to play with what has been coined as “The Swiss Army Knife of
Utility Apps” and, let us tell you, it’s a real work of art.

If you’re a fan of classic, mechanical,
steampunk-inspired design, you should buy this app. If you would like to have
all the iPhone utilities you use regularly housed within one slick interface, you should
buy this app. Even if you’re down to the last couple of bucks knocking around
in your iTunes account, you should buy this app!

In the lead up to any major announcement from Apple there are normally a few leaks that help build hype or gauge public reaction.

An "unnamed employee" casually disclosing features to a not-so-off-the-record reporter can be just as helpful as a focus group when it comes to measuring consumer reaction to an upcoming product. Blog comment sections and social networks go wild and forums froth with manic discussion. Almost all of this chatter provides useful (not to mention free) information for the company in question and helps them to prepare for a hit or avoid a disaster.

While we're sure that the iPhone 4 being left in a bar wasn't part of a controlled leak on Apple's part, it's well known that the company does (or at least did during Steve Jobs' tenure) like to feed tidbits to the open-mouthed masses in order to cultivate the requisite level of hysteria come keynote time, while also taking the temperature of the market.

It now appears, be it intentional or not, that Microsoft is enjoying the same increase in attention through tags on its support site that mention as yet unconfirmed versions of Office products for iPhone and iPad.

Whether this was a genuine mistake by overzealous Microsoft staff in Europe or a cunning leak from Redmond, the result is the same. Sites (like us) are writing about it and people (even you!) are reading about it.

How do you promote your releases? Pocket Copy provides a range of marketing services including press releases and advertising copy. Why not let us help you maximize the conversation surrounding your next launch?

Technology might improve almost everything we do but there are times when it simply gets in the way. For those lacking confidence in their writing ability, a spell check or autocorrect might be enough to give them peace of mind... but the technology isn't infallible.

For years, we at Pocket Copy have feared the potential disruption caused by a carless SMS asking a friend if they "fancy a riot at the bar". Similarly, when we're really annoyed, sending "What the duck!" just doesn't cut it. There are many other examples of the perils of autocorrect, as you'll see below, and it seems it's only going to get worse for Apple users.

As professionals we avoid autocorrect like the plague. Even the word processor's spell checker.

"Don't depend on Spell-check. First of all, it won't notice mistakes like this in you're writing. Second, using Spell-check is just lazy. Seriously, if you have to use some stupid computer program on your writing, use Suck-check, whenever that one comes out."

The computer isn't always right. It just thinks it is.

To our great chagrin, there's a bar across the road from the Pocket Copy office with a beautifully designed canvas banner offering "Speciality Coffee's" and "Berties Dish's of the day". A spell check wouldn't have picked up any of those errors.

To further exacerbate the issue, users of Apple's iCloud will soon find their errors being baked in to their own personal dictionary. A new, hidden iOS 6 feature spots words you regularly misspell and, once you've ignored what your device believes is a mistake for long enough, goes ahead and adds the word to your iCloud dictionary. Effectively, if you make enough errors, your device will give up trying to correct you and tell your other iCloud devices to do the same.

While this might be useful for words you actually want to use, it does open the door to persistent errors and spelling mistakes.

The answer? Turn it all off and trust yourself. Take a few more minutes to read and absorb your words and the mistakes are sure to jump out at you.

The Pocket Copy team aren't just obsessed with mobile tech. We're also serious advertising junkies.

We're the guys who watch TV for the commercials. We analyse them, we love them and we hate them. We're weird like that...

With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that we're fans of the iPad mini print ads that have begun appearing this week.

Taking the prime "outside back" advertising position at the rear of The New Yorker and Time, the ads show a scale image of the iPad mini with the cover of the issue the ad is printed on displayed on the iPad's screen.

So simple, so smart and a win for Apple and the respective publisher.

By comparison to a simple product shot, the consumer not only sees the sexy little device Apple is promoting, they're also alerted to the fact that the magazine they are reading is available on the iPad.

While we're sure that print issues of Time and The New Yorker will continue long after many other publications have pulped their physical media offerings, it's great to see creative advertising using the old medium to usher in the new.

Let’s get
something straight from the offset. This is by no means a definitive list. In
fact, it’s pretty much a collection of apps installed on the Pocket Copy iPad
that we felt deserved recognition for ACQ (App Copy Quality).

These five apps
all display unique copy features that truly enhance the experience for the end
user and are worth noting if you have your own app or are developing one.

Fieldrunners 2 by Subatomic Studios

The first
app in our mini rundown is the delectable tower defence game Fieldrunners 2
from Subatomic Studios. Not only is the game a great time waster, it also displays comic quips, advice and cryptic clues while each level loads. The game was
attacked by some when first launched for having slow load times, leading to a
new load screen message since the bugs have been fixed that reads “Due to war
rationing, this loading time has been shortened”.

As with
most tips in Apple-made apps, the help notes in GarageBand that appear when the
question mark button at the top of the interface is tapped offer just enough
guidance to point the user in the right direction. Links placed within some of the
tips allow the user to access more detailed guides as part of the GarageBand
manual too.

Paper by FiftyThree

Paper by FiftyThree is a
minimalist app that puts all the focus on the canvas used for writing and
sketching. When a user does ask for help, however, it is offered in the form of
a slick, well edited, video tutorial as well short tips and promotions for
in-app purchases. The app also has its own blog, accessible from within the app, that showcases the work of its users. Not only is this a great promotional tool
but it develops a community for users of the app.

The second
game in the list, SimCity Deluxe from Electronic Arts, includes a lot of copy. With so many options
and paths for the player to head down, specific snippets of text for many
scenarios are required. Of course, this game comes from a twenty year old
series of titles so there’s plenty of editorial in the bank, but the quirky help text
and entertaining guidance from the game’s advisor characters adds a great deal
of personality.

The SoundCloud app

SoundCloud,
the social network for audio, provides a simple, free, recording app with a
very useful tour that appears on first launch. A set of swipeable pages quickly
and concisely explain the app’s key features in a fun and engaging way that
seems easy but needs to be done well to be successful.

So that’s
five of our favourite app copy examples. How about your app? Could it do with
more engaging copy? Would it benefit from an instructional video or would a
professional script for characters within the app do the job? Pocket Copy can
provide all this and more at rate that will almost certainly surprise you. Get in
touch with us today to discuss your app copy needs.

Last week, Pocket Copy officially opened
its virtual doors to developers of iOS, Android and Windows Mobile apps as well
as companies in the mobile market looking for professional copywriting
services for their products.

This week, we’re completing our first
commissions and engaging in exciting discussions with prospective clients. Not
a bad start!

We have noticed, however, that those we’ve
spoken to expect our service to cost the earth.

Let us tell you now - it really doesn’t.

We’ve discussed publishing a basic rate
card on the site but, due to the nature of this type of copywriting, it’s hard
to nail down an all-encompassing solution. A per-word rate may work out
brilliantly for one client but produce a terrifying fee for another, for
example.

That’s why we work on a per-project basis
and build a rate specific to the work performed. Clients do, of course, receive
a free quote before any work is started, so there won’t be any nasty surprises
when our invoice arrives.

As a rule we approach commissions by
working out the time we believe it will take us to complete a project and
produce a fee based on our set hourly rate. We keep the client involved in this
process too and only lock in the fee when both parties agree on the price.

Once the work is completed, the client has
the option to request rewrites until they, not us, are happy with the content
delivered. Rewrites are completely free and we’ll keep on writing them until
the client is 100% content.

So that’s:

- A free quote

- Flexible rates for each project

- Unlimited rewrites

We don’t think we could offer a much fairer
deal but, if you think there’s something we could change, by all means get in
touch and let us know.

Hey, we're new here...

...but don't worry, it won't be long before this blog becomes a fountain of quality editorial, astute mobile market observations and other downright brilliant content.

Right now we're a little busy adding finishing touches to the site, the social media accounts, the client list, the database, the mail server, the domain, the office and everything else that goes with a new launch.

Check back soon for a proper post from a properly adjusted human, not the caffeine-soaked shell of a man writing this.